Over the past few months, the WAC website has undergone a thorough review and redesign. More than just a cosmetic makeover, all of the content in the site has been scrutinized, and the overall user interface has been designed to be much more accessible and user friendly. Some of the key features include:

New server - The main site has been moved to a major web hosting company that provides substantial speed improvements, as well as offering many dynamic web tools we will implement over the next few months.

Standardized and easy-to-use navigation - the content of every section and page of the WAC website is accessible using the navigation panel on the left side of each page.

News updates - The top WAC news stories will be updated frequently and are selectable on every page in the site.

Multi-lingual support - Due to the simplified and standardized code structure, the site is easily translatable to other languages. Initially, we are using Babelfish to offer translation, but over the coming months the site will be translated into as many languages as possible.

Near term plans include:

Over the next three months - reengineering the underlying web architecture to comply with international accessibility and web standards, as well as to add dynamic content generation functions and improved user experiences. We will be calling for new links to WAC member sites, as well as taking your suggestions for improving the WAC site in order to serve the WAC community to the fullest extent possible.

Over the next year - add modules specific to the mission of WAC, such as localized content, multi-lingual translation, worldwide activities and interest groups, forums and other communications and sharing technologies, multimedia, etc.

This work has been conducted under the guidance of the Internet and Global Communications Task Force, chaired by Michael Ashley. We welcome the exceptional efforts of Timo Bishop, who has not only designed the new site, but has also accepted the role of web master for the next year.

We welcome your comments, corrections and suggestions as development continues. We look forward to creating an exceptional portal for all of WAC's activities worldwide.

About the design team and task force

The mission of the Internet and Global Communications Task Force is to develop and maintain a digital framework that embodies the international and diverse interests of the WAC membership. We are committed to creating a dynamic, multi-lingual, content rich collection of web and communication tools brought together in a cohesive internet portal that is inviting and easy-to-use. Perhaps our most important task is to diligently act as stewards of the digital assets by developing strategies for long-term, sustainable data archiving. We invite your comments, suggestions and participation in crafting the WAC virtual community.